If you play golf outdoors (and who doesn’t), you need to protect your skin from the harmful rays of the sun.

Yesterday during my weekly round of golf with my local league, one of the women asked my advice about sunscreen for golfers. She was wearing a wide golf visor and sunglasses to protect her face and eyes from the glare and damaging uv rays, but she’s been playing under the hot sun and has developed a couple of sun blisters on her lips.

My first advice was to have her seek the guidance of her dermatologist. (She already had an appointment scheduled. Lucky!) Unfortunately so many of us are suffering with sun damaged skin, it’s hard to get an appointment! Fortunately, the last time I met with my skin specialist I asked her the very question my friend was asking.

What is the best sunblock on the market for people who play golf all season? What do I use to protect my skin?

The reality is that for most of us who play outdoors, the damage is already done. So many women have foolishly spent their teenage years on the beach or poolside, slathered in baby oil, seeking the perfect tan. Our skin is now  showing the results, and our dermatologists are warning us, if we don’t get the right skin protection there will be serious consequences.

No one wants to look older than they are. But skin, especially facial skin, can reveal your age faster than just about any other feature. You can call them “freckles” but when those brown age spots start to grow and pop… it’s time for some serious prevention.

Here is the advice my dermatologist gave me.

If you’re shopping for sun protection, I suggest you bypass the sunscreen and go directly to the sunblock. Sunscreen does what it says: it screens the harmful rays of the sun, but they still get through, no matter how high the number. What you want to do is BLOCK the sun’s damaging rays, and for that you need to get a product that contains ZINC, the best known blocker on the planet. Remember those lifeguards with their noses covered with white cream? The smart ones used zinc to protect their facial features. Without it, serious sun damage was inevitable. There are a number of products on the market, both in stores and on line. Look for ZINC as the active ingredient and you will be using a product that will do the job correctly. Your skin needs all the protection you can give it. With both a high number of UV protection (above 30 at least) and ZINC as the active ingredient, you will be making a smart choice when it comes to choosing a product that you can count on to protect your skin against the aging effects of the sun.

One product that meets all these requirements and is doctor recommended is SOLBAR. It is available online at a variety of sites. I’ve shopped around and the best price for a 4 oz. tube is at Amazon.com Click here to purchase Solbar Zinc SPF 38 4 oz.
directly from Amazon.com

Here are what customers are saying about SOLBAR:

5 STAR Average Customer Rating: (101 Reviews)

• “I use this when I’m doing a sport, since it’s water resistant. It has never given my sensitive skin any problems. I’m sure I could use it on my face, but I like cosmedix spray-on sunscreen for that.”
• “Product is non-greasy and makes skin feel so soft – with no allergic reactions of any kind.
• “After years of looking and experimenting with over the counter sunscreens, Zolbar Zinc SPF 38 is unique to other sunscreen products because it protects the skin from UVA and UVB rays, which is important for the skin. It doesn’t stain the clothes, and it mosturizes the face.”

Do you have a sunscreen product you use and can recommend? Let us know by posting a comment below.